British soldier shot dead in Afghanistan

A British soldier has been shot dead while on duty in Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence has confirmed.

British forces serving in AfghanistanPhoto: PA

Michael Howie

9:52AM BST 14 Aug 2010

The soldier, from the Queen's Gurkha Engineers, was killed on Friday afternoon in Nad-e Ali, in Helmand province and is the third British fatality from the conflict in the space of two days.

Lieutenant Colonel David Southall, spokesman for Helmand task force, said the soldier had been serving with 21 Engineer Regiment when he was killed.

"Part of a Sapper team rebuilding the security infrastructure in support of the 2nd Battalion, The Duke of Lancaster's Battle Group, he was engaged and killed by small arms fire. Selfless to the end, he gave his life whilst supporting others. His sacrifice will not be forgotten," he said. The soldier's family has been informed.

A second soldier from the same regiment was also killed by small arms fire while supporting the 40 Commando Royal Marines battle group in the Sangin district of Helmand on Friday.

Another British soldier died on Thursday at a hospital in Britain. The serviceman, from the 1st Battalion The Mercian Regiment, was undergoing treatment for injuries sustained after a helicopter crashed at a patrol base in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand province on Tuesday. He was flown back to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, where he died surrounded by his family.

It was reported that the accident happened during a night-time re supply mission, when the aircraft's rotor blades hit a lookout tower and knocked down a wall next to where he was sleeping.

The soldier's comrades dug through the rubble for more than half an hour to free him, according to the report.

Major Ronnie Goodwin, officer commanding the rear operations group of 1 Mercian, said: "He gave his life trying to improve the lives of people in Helmand by providing much-needed reassurance and security."

Britain presently has around 9,500 troops deployed in Afghanistan. The latest deaths took the total number of UK soldiers killed in Afghanistan since the US-led invasion of the country in 2001 to 331.